Venue: Oakenshaw Community Centre - Oakenshaw Community Centre. View directions
Contact: Gavin Day Democratic Services Officer
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Apologies Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Sid Khan.
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Declarations of Interest To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
Councillors Harvey and Slim wished it noted that they were Ward Members for the Central Ward which Agenda item 4 (Minute No4) Fell under. However, they did not consider themselves prejudiced and would continue to sit for the item.
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Public Speaking Minutes: There was no public speaking.
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Unicorn Hill Taxi Rank Additional documents:
Minutes: The Principal Licensing Officer, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), presented the report to Members. The purpose of the report was for Members to resolve whether to direct Officers to undertake the required legal process in respect of the hackney carriage stand orders along Unicorn Hill.
Officers detailed that at the November Licencing Committee, Members instructed Officers to undertake the required public consultation process. Officers clarified that as the plans had been out for consultation Members were invited to either accept or reject the proposal, as amendments to the plan relating to the rank could not be made.
Officers detailed the changes which were proposed for the Unicorn Hill Taxi Rank in that:
Following anecdotal observations, data was sought and provided by CCTV operations in the area over a 28day period, the information was detailed on page 35 of the public reports pack. The CCTV evidence showed that the maximum occupancy throughout the daytime was 6 vehicles, which increased to 8 during the evening.
Officers drew Members attention to objections raised by The Redditch Taxi Association (RTA) and a number of individuals, found on pages 17 to 33 of the Public Reports pack.
Officers highlighted that many of the complaints were in relation to enforcement matters, it was hoped that the reassigning of unicorn hill would reduce some of those concerns.
The following was clarified by Officers during questions from Members:
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Gambling Act 2005 - Statement of Principles Review Additional documents: Minutes: The Principal Licensing Officer, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), presented the report to Members. The purpose of the report was for Members to approve the DRAFT statement of Principles, to go out for consultation.
Officers detailed that under the 2005 Gambling Act, the Council was required to publish a statement of principle which needed to be reviewed and updated every 3 years.
A new policy needed to be published before January 2025, therefore, Officers were asking Members to approve the DRAFT statement of principles for the purpose of going out for consultation.
The changes which were needed were detailed at paragraph 3.16 on Page 42 of the Public Documents pack.
Officers clarified that a review could be undertaken within the 3-year period and that due to a number of possible upcoming changes at a government level, the policy may need to come back to members before January 2028.
The following was clarified after questions from Members.
On being put to a vote it was
RESOLVED that
the draft revised Statement of Principles detailed on pages 45 to 79 of the Public Reports pack be approved for the purpose of consultation with relevant parties.
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Draft Pavement Licensing Policy Additional documents: Minutes: The Principal Licensing Officer, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), presented the report to Members. The purpose of the report was for Members to approve the DRAFT policy on Pavement Licencing, to go out for consultation.
Officers detailed that although the 1980 Highways act permitted pavement licencing, it was the responsibility of the County council to grant.
During the COVID-19 pandemic a temporary policy was put in place to allow businesses to put tables and chairs on the pavement to allow them to continue trading whilst maintaining social distancing guidance. This policy transferred the responsibility of granting licences to District Councils.
The temporary policy was highly successful and was extended beyond its original intended finish date, it was then decided to adopt the regime on a permanent basis.
When referring to the policy found on pages 87 to 110 of the Public Reports pack, Officers drew attention to the increase in consultation and decision-making time permitted from 7 days to 14 days and that there were also some new enforcement powers permitted under the policy.
Officers detailed that as it was a new policy, a longer consultation was proposed of 8 to 10 weeks which would give any interested party time to respond.
The following was clarified after questions from Members.
Members found no issues with the draft policy and were broadly in support of going out to consultation. Therefore, on being put to a vote it was
RESOLVED that
the draft Pavement Licencing Policy detailed on pages 87 to 110 of the Public Reports pack be approved for the purpose of consultation with relevant parties.
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Minutes: The work programme was reviewed by Members with no changes or additions and was noted by the Committee.
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Additional documents:
Minutes:
RESOLVED that
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Exclusion of the Public and Press In the opinion of the Chief Executive, the meeting will not be, or is unlikely to be open to the Public at the time the following items of business are considered for the reasons stated. The Committee will be asked to pass the following resolution:
“that under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended:
· Paragraph 1 – Any Individuals · Paragraph 2 – Identity of Individuals · Paragraph 3 – Financial or Business Affairs · Paragraph 7 – The Prosecution of a Crime.”
Minutes:
Under S100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public were excluded on the grounds of the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 of the said act, as amended.
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Officer Update(s) - Enforcement and Appeal Matters (In view of the fact that information may be revealed in relation to individuals, the identities and financial or business affairs of those individuals and the prosecution of crimes, any reports will be confidential and circulated to Members and relevant Officers only.)
Minutes: Restricted. |